Liberal Democrats still aiming to be 'kingmakers' in scrap for coalition after closely fought election
Liberal Democrats believe they can return to government even if they lose almost half their seats in next month's election.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's junior coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, believe they can return to government even if they lose almost half their seats in next month's election, a senior party source said yesterday.
In comments which underscore the party's desire to stay in office despite its diminished popularity, the source said the centre-left party could win just over 30 seats, down from 57 in 2010, yet still have a chance of being a kingmaker to one of the two larger parties.
"We need to get into the 30s and then the other parties need to sort themselves out," the source said, adding that this was a realistic target.
With polls showing Cameron's Conservatives neck-and-neck with the opposition Labour Party ahead of the May 7 election, nobody is expected to win an outright majority. That will leave smaller parties, including the Scottish nationalists and UKIP, vying for influence.
The Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg, have seen their poll ratings slump by around two-thirds since entering into a coalition with the Conservatives in 2010, but argue polls underestimate their real level of support.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party pledged to scrap property purchase taxes for first-time home buyers, the party's latest effort ahead of the election to win the support of young voters who say they have been disenfranchised by high house prices.
Labour leader Ed Miliband set out the proposal to eliminate stamp duty for first-time buyers of homes worth up to £300,000 pounds (HK$3.5 million) - a pledge which would save those buyers as much as £5,000 (HK$59,000).
"There's nothing more British than the dream of home ownership, but for so many young people today that dream is fading," Miliband said.
The proposals are aimed at younger voters who cannot afford to buy property - a trend caused in large part by a shortage of new homes. Labour promises to oversee the building of at least 200,000 homes a year by 2020.
